Light emitting diodes (LEDs) in large area lighting devices have been used for some time, where a large number of LEDs are arranged as an array or matrix to evenly provide lighting over a large area. Typically, LEDs have been arranged on a printed circuit board (PCB) by means of traditional surface mounting techniques. However, recently there has been proposed other types of solutions to provide large area LED arrays.
WO 2007/125566 A1 discloses a method for manufacturing a LED array in which N electrically conducting wires are arranged in parallel creating an array of wires having a width D perpendicular to the length direction of the wires. Further, LED components are arranged to the array of wires such that each LED component is electrically connected to at least two adjacent wires, and subsequently the array of wires is stretched such that the width of the array is increased. To connect to the wires, the LED components are each arranged with a printed circuit board or lead frame with snap locks, or by means of soldering, gluing, insulation displacement connection (IDC) or similar. The proposed method provides a low cost solution for applications where large lighting area is important. However, mounting of small components is difficult on wires, and the proposed method requires that the wires have to be placed on a temporary carrier which is removed after mounting of the components.